That's not because those contests always end in easy Boston Celtics wins -- as Minnesota, Cleveland, Charlotte and many other foes can attest, that isn't always the case. Rather, Rivers appreciates the opportunity that arrives after meeting a lottery opponent, when he can approach another coach and pick his brain.

Lately, Rivers' quest for information has been focused largely on his new starting five. As a measure of his unfamiliarity with the lineup, he's been seeking outside counsel, especially to understand why opponents choose to put a smaller defender on either Paul Pierce or Jeff Green.

“Yeah, but that won’t last," Rivers said, noting that teams seem to sic smaller defenders on Pierce most of the time when Boston goes with it's big wing tandem. "I think teams will go back and forth on it. And they did even in the game the other night (against Washington). They started out with a small, then they went big, then they went back small, so I think teams are trying to figure out which way they would guard it.

"It’s nice when you play, honestly, a team that’s not in the playoffs and you know the coach. Because after the game you can ask what their reasoning for choosing one or the other. And it’s been interesting, the comments that I’ve gotten back.”

Would he share what type of information his queries have uncovered? No, except to call it "good information" and to note that most coaches are willing to answer his questions.

"They’ve always helped, and they’re open, for the most part," Rivers said. "I mean, they’re not going to tell you their secrets, but they’re going to tell you some of their thoughts."

That Rivers feels the need to continue gathering input is at once comforting and scary. He's committed to giving that unit every advantage to succeed in the playoffs, yet he also realizes how little he knows about the lineup. In fact, he wouldn't even commit to it as a permanent change. While saying he's currently "set" with his starters, Rivers cautioned that in coaching lexicon the phrase only pertains to one day at a time. If things go wrong, he won't hesitate to return to more conventional thinking.

For now, though, Rivers seems optimistic and assumes that the offense will fall into place. Kevin Garnett and the resurgent Brandon Bass provide court spacing and midrange shooting. Green and Pierce should pose matchup problems against any team. Avery Bradley should fare better while surrounded by more talented teammates; he's best-suited, at least at this stage of his career, to play off others rather than creating his own scoring chances.

“Offensively, it’s been pretty easy. We knew that," Rivers said. "And they’ve worked on it offensively. We’ve done skeleton with that group all year. Defensively, it’s tough to mock what the other teams will do because you don’t have those types of players. In our gym, we don’t have a (Dwyane) Wade running around. Even (Garrett Temple) the other night created off-the-dribble issues for us."

Playing alongside Green should provide freedom for Pierce. The Truth has always been an underrated (and possibly underutilized) post scorer, ranking eighth in the NBA last season in points per post-up possession, according to Synergy Sports, and 12th in 2010-11. Though he's slipped slightly this season, Pierce remains one of the league's more effective and efficient post-up scorers, at least when he gets opportunities. He's especially good at utilizing height mismatches, which is why Boston has long loved running pick-and-rolls with him and a guard.

Now, getting those mismatches might not require so much work.

"We're posting me up a lot more since Jeff's been in the lineup, because often times when Jeff gets it going they'll put the better defender on him," Pierce said, "and I'll be caught with the smaller guy."

"The smaller guy's always going to have to guard one of us," he added, "and knowing that both of us are strong post-up presences and good finishers at the basket, it causes a dilemma, I think, on the defensive end for other teams."

There are potential problem areas on defense, where Rivers felt that Green's foul trouble against Washington resulted primarily from his unfamiliarity with guarding twos.

"And that’s an issue, because we don’t need him in foul trouble," Rivers said. "So we have to figure out a way of taking those plays away, because that’s what teams are going to do. They’re going to try to isolate one of them and try to attack them off the dribble, which creates a whole new set of problems.”

Another possible problem: Green has been taken off the bench, leaving very limited scoring in the second unit. Jason Terry is capable of outbursts, but those have been fewer this season than in the past. Though it's not a perfectly fair comparison because of changed circumstances, Terry scored in single digits only 10 times all of last season; this year, he's done it on 11 occasions since the beginning of March. Lee has likewise been struggling to score; while Rivers rightfully pointed out that the guard's role begins with defending, it would be nice if he -- or anyone off the bench -- could provide some type of consistent punch.

"It's tough because Jeff was a main contributor off the bench and now he's in the lineup," said Pierce. "But now it's giving other guys an opportunity and expanding their roles."

If Pierce seemed a little worried, Rivers didn't.

"When you say bench in the playoffs, you don’t mean five guys," he said. "You mean three guys, maybe four, with one of Paul, Kevin or Jeff, will most likely always be on the floor."

The exploration continues as Rivers looks to expand his knowledge of the new lineup. The unit is here, maybe to stay, yet Boston's plight remains quite familar.

"We've shown the ability to beat teams at the top. The only main concern is maintaining that level of play for a consistent amount of games," said Pierce. "We've been up, we've been down, we've won six, we've lost four. Hopefully we can hit our stride this coming week going into the playoffs. If so, I like our chances against anybody in the East."